CONFIRMED Rubén Sellés - Three year deal

[Charlieblade]

On the flip side we've also had a culture who accept, tolerate and defend mediocrity and sub-par performances because they see the result as the be all and end all.

I'd personally rather watch a good game of football which I enjoyed where we lost, than give up two hours to watch a scrappy, disjointed sack of crap where we won which I didn't enjoy watching.

Sadly Tony you and I seem to be in the minority. When I made the same point earlier this season, I was told to “look at the table”.
We still finished 10 points adrift of automatic promotion!

My main concern is that:
A: We will still lose key players, because of Wilder, Selles, Agents etc.
B: Selles could still make a slow start on takeover, and the owners lack understanding and patience.

Some fans don’t like losing Wilder. That is not important because fans don’t matter and fans don’t make decisions or pay the bills. The owners do so it’s their money and their gamble.

Worst case is, Selles gets a slow start and we only make the play offs.

 

[SUFCinks]

I like this direction, a style of play hopefully and less negative football. To me these are the foundations of a more long term approach in modernising the club. Wilder did a great job in regards to points but the football was shit at times considering the players we had. Wilder is a throwback to an outdated era of roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. Inportant traits but more needed in this day and age if we want premier league sustainability.

 

[Arcadia Blade]

Excellent post and made me laugh because it’s so true regards some of them.

In fact it’s a common trait of people from Sheffield. We just hate change and distrust ambitious big thinkers. Suspect this is the reason both clubs have struggled to acquire new owners.

Also part of the reason is because our best managers over 40 years have been Bassett, Warnock and Wilder and all 3 have strong similarities regards being so passionate towards the club and preferring 100% triers with great attitudes instead of high quality players.

When ever we’ve tried the foreign approach or trying to play nice football it’s never worked (apart from Kendall and Wilson) because our fans prefer up and at em, “gerrit forad” football.

Regards Selles who knows? He gets my support (no option really I support the club much more than any manager or player) and we’ll just have to wait and see. Wouldn’t surprise me if he turns into a Danny Rohl type appointment where there are games when we are tactically really impressive but expect there to be more inconsistency.

I think the reason, you mention the type of football under Bassett, Warnock & Wilder and the 100% triers is because we have had no serious money, while they were in charge. let's see if this changes under the new board and new management.

 

[nopigfansintown]

I hope there's a performance based break clause

 

[Houston_Blade]

I wanted Wilder gone IF we could improve on him and change the mentality of the club. If it was the same boring names (Cooper, Dyche etc.) then there was no point.

Whilst I have no idea if Selles is any good and will be any good for us, we’re at least admitting that the club is being dragged into a new way of thinking that has proved successful for other clubs.

The Jokanovic appointment seems like a bad dream now and we had to revert to type in Hecky to sort it out. Hopefully this one works better.

 

[Blades Glory Owls Down]

OK so the decision has been made for Chris Wilder to move on and I'm sure everyone thanks him for everything he has done with/for the club but we are now embarking on a new era under the new owners who appear to have a set vision and have appointed someone that they feel will be able to deliver that vision.

Understandably, there will be those that are disappointed to see Wilder go. As we have seen on here, there have been a number of people who have quite strongly voiced their opinions one way or the other. As I said, in the post confirming his departure, I was 50/50. I thought that he probably had done enough to be given another try at getting us promotion but could see there were cracks in the machine that he was building and we often had to grind out results and adopted some negative defensive play to protect single goal leads.

The pin has been pulled and we now have Selles in.
I will give him a chance to win me over and show that the owners made the right choice. I hope others will too, particularly those that have had full on meltdowns and threatened never to return to the Lane again due to Wilders departure.
There has been suggestion that Selles will be Jokanovic 2.0 and fail miserably. Maybe this will happen but hopefully it wont, and Selles will be supported in his building of a team, and gets the players that he wants.
Jokanovic wasnt afforded that luxury. He wanted players but the owners of the time appeared to fail to deliver, leaving him with a team that wasnt able to play the style that he wanted and we clearly struggled with the odd exception (Peterborough at home).
We have the nucleus of a great team and hopefully dont lose too many of them and can add to this to create a team that can get us challenging at the top whilst giving us some entertainment at the same time.
only time will tell, but I will support my club forever, regardless of who is manager/owner/MC/gardener/tea lady etc.

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

The initial challenge of any new manager when he replaces a 'mutually agreed' departure like this is can he get a different tune out of the same instruments.

As with the previous poster I was 50/50 on whether we needed a change. Chris brought so much of himself to our team and it was always more than just a job to him.

I just hope the new owners give RS time to build something and hopefully something we long to see on a Saturday afternoon or daft o'clock Tuesday evening during monsoon season in Swansea.

 

[Kev Gee]

Can't believe the reaction from from of our fans.

The cult of Wilder is still alive and well.

Give the bloke a chance for Christ's sake.

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

One of the areas he’s supposedly fixed quickly at Reading and Hull was defensive frailty.
If he builds and organises a strong championship defence and couple that with Vinni and Arblaster that’s a very solid base. That’s potentially very exciting.

What we don’t know is what offensive options we’ll have. But given how we were hugely expansive in the attacking sense that’s also potentially quite exciting particularly if he retains Hamer.

He’s going to be backed so he’ll get to bring in his own players too, again another exciting thing with different types of players, some of which we’ll have never heard of that could be hidden gems. Again very exciting.

I’m still slightly disappointed that CW has gone because I wanted to see how the next stage of the rebuild would go. However I’m looking forward to the summer window and then pre-season friendlies more now because who knows how we’ll setup or who we’ll have brought in.

 

[Rodley]

Who said a couple of weeks ago that Chris was going and Seles was coming in ?

Think it was either Rocket Man or Rifleman ITK

 

[luffenhamblade]

Sadly Tony you and I seem to be in the minority. When I made the same point earlier this season, I was told to “look at the table”.
We still finished 10 points adrift of automatic promotion!

My main concern is that:
A: We will still lose key players, because of Wilder, Selles, Agents etc.
B: Selles could still make a slow start on takeover, and the owners lack understanding and patience.

Some fans don’t like losing Wilder. That is not important because fans don’t matter and fans don’t make decisions or pay the bills. The owners do so it’s their money and their gamble.

Worst case is, Selles gets a slow start and we only make the play offs.

Sadly Tony you and I seem to be in the minority. When I made the same point earlier this season, I was told to “look at the table”.
We still finished 10 points adrift of automatic promotion!

My main concern is that:
A: We will still lose key players, because of Wilder, Selles, Agents etc.
B: Selles could still make a slow start on takeover, and the owners lack understanding and patience.

Some fans don’t like losing Wilder. That is not important because fans don’t matter and fans don’t make decisions or pay the bills. The owners do so it’s their money and their gamble.

Worst case is, Selles gets a slow start and we only make the play offs.

Thanks for letting us know that fans don’t matter. Guess we’ll have to get used to that. Oh happy days.

 

[mattbianco1]

Is he any good Matt?

On the face of it, he did a good job at both Reading and Hull.

I guess time will tell.

I hope so for his sake because a big percentage of our fans are against the appointment. He'll have to win them over quickly

 

[Zeblades34]

Pissing 10 mil on Cannon when a smart manager would have been investing in a defender who we would own to replace to Souttar rather than a loan.

Weren't the board behind cannon signing?

 

[Scarebus]

On the face of it, he did a good job at both Reading and Hull.

I guess time will tell.

I hope so for his sake because a big percentage of our fans are against the appointment. He'll have to win them over quickly

I don't think this will have been a rapid, panic appointment. Wilder would have stayed if they weren't impressed with another candidate.

Selles has clearly won over the board/ownership. He'll have surely spent the last week or so presenting his ideas & vision going forward and both sides are aligned.

That's a good start.

 

[BlairBlade]

I wish our new manager well and he has my full support.

This does not look like a rushed job and nor can I see anything classless in it or how it has been handled.

It is certainly a big change and I would hope, surely expect, all our fans to get behind him.

The very best of luck.

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

I'm sure they've researched him and analysed what he's done in the situations he was working. Managers evolve and sometimes quickly.
Our rivals managers last season, Farke and Scott Parker made big leaps.
Scott Parkers very first full management job was at Fulham, PL, after serving as assistant or coach.
Farke had only managed at low league and Dortmund second team. Got Norwich promoted in his second season there, in his first major job.

 

[Delboyscap]

Any new manager is a gamble. Most thought Adkins was going to be fantastic until it turned out he was woefully inept.

This feels like the start of a new post-Wilder era. I'm excited to see what direction Selles takes us (and hoping it's upwards with high intensity attacking football). Bring on next season!

Although true, you always try to mitigate those risks by appointing someone proven to the level you are operating or wishing to reach and Selles doesn't measure up on that criteria. It is all about risk to reward, and it seems that the risk is quite high here. Sure the reward might be that Selles goes on to be a top manager and better than the managers that he may have been competing for this job with. But it is a big 'might be'. The Hull owner wasn't happy with the style of football so I am surprised that so many are getting wet at the thought of Selles.

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

Anyone have any details of players he signed while manager of Reading (dont think so)or any players he signed while manager of Hull ?

I know he will have more financial backing here,but i just want to get a flavour of what he likes.

 

[Sean Thornton]

To be fair, you’re stuck somewhere around 1963 so you’re not likely to understand how the game has changed since then.

You’re clearly unhinged and must really hate Wilder……..

 

[Silky Sabella]

Any rumours who his assistant will be ?

 

[Chimpan-A]

What I don’t get about a lot of posters is the absolute confidence they have that this appointment will be a failure. No one knows, in the same way we didn’t really know that Wilder could cut it at a club our size when he took over. It’s the same thinking that means promising managers don’t get a chance at managing in the Premier League, needy fans demanding big names with CVs full of trophies.
To my thinking, if Rohl can be touted as the next big thing based on a rescue mission and a mediocre season, Selles is worthy of being given a chance with us.
He may prove to be a disaster, but lets at least give him the chance to take his coat off and hang it up before we give up on him.

 

[DaveBassettsgoneonholiday]

I'm taking it as a positive that he's Spanish and therefore can't qualify for The British Managers Lunch Club, subsequently there should be no Destroy & Exit policy implemented.......well, not deliberately.
Then again, I'm not privy as to whether we need new carpets in the board room.

 

[AnstonBlade1]

Of course he’ll be a YES MAN, every manager is, otherwise they’d never be appointed.

Think the main reasons for the change must be due to a change in management structure and reputational damage created by Wilder.

1: Suspect SUFC have changed from the old fashioned UK style manager system, where the manager controls almost everything at a club and has a big input and final decision in buying players. Everywhere else in the world, the owners/ advisors/ director of football run the club and choose the players. They consult with the 1st team coach but the 1st team coach is basically given players and told to prepare them and divide tactics. This is the system used around the world and in the top flight.

2: Maybe the club want to buy more foreign players. Wilders CV is pretty poor regards foreign players. Selles is multi lingual, worked as a coach in several countries and has vast experience working with numerous nationalities.

3: Wilder is passionate and fans love it. It was more in fashion in previous decades but these days almost all managers are computerised robots. Maybe the owners want to drag the club into the current day. Wilder was sometimes a liability regards his emotions where as Selles is a much safer pair of hands regards emotional stability and behaviour.

4: Reputational image of the club. Wilder was generally disliked by fans of other clubs and didn’t have a good reputation in the media. Selles is a young, good looking guy, more appealing to the media. The off field discipline of the players was terrible, often fighting during and after matches and surely a manager is partially to blame for £500K of fines.

5: Selles was known for a high pressing style and let’s be honest Hull looked good at the Lane, think Wilder was tactically out smarted that day, think that will have played a part in their decision.

6: This hasn’t been mentioned anywhere but was or is Wilders daughter in a relationship with a player? This is really risky as it can create favouritism and/ or internal politics totally disrupting a harmonious squad. Wouldn’t be surprised if this was seen as a massive negative and potential future disaster.

Wilder obviously want a yes man which I’m guessing is why they’ve got rid, no?

 

[Tony_Kaufman]

Sounds like he confirmed the 2 coaches are also joining him. He also said a more experienced coach would also be joining the team. Will be interested to find out who.

Any word on what's happening with Lester?

Stuart McCall!

 

[BangorBlade]

Oh well...onward and errrr mmmmm, the worst thing that could happen is a shoes of protest in the carpark by Jan

 

[Pandev]

I asked our AI overlords to compare Selles and Wilder:

Here’s the brief summary:

Tactical Category​	Chris Wilder​	Rubén Sellés​
Style	Structured, pragmatic	Modern, fluid, high-tempo
Defence	Deep block, compact	Pressing, quick regain
Attack	Wing-based, physical	Central combinations, speed
Flexibility	Low	High
Build-up	Direct, wide overloads	Short, controlled, vertical
Formation	Consistent (3-5-2)	Flexible (3-4-2-1, 4-2-3-1, etc.)

It went far more in depth which made some interesting reading.

 

[Charlieblade]

Thanks for letting us know that fans don’t matter. Guess we’ll have to get used to that. Oh happy days.

I realise it’s not very nice, but in the grand scheme of things, it is also true. Sorry about that.

 

[Blade56]

BalticBlade re your point about someone being outraged on TwatterX that Sellés has never played professional footy.
I asked chatGBT which top managers have never played pro footy….

Rank​	Name​	Nationality​	Key Teams Managed​	Notable Achievements​
1	Arrigo Sacchi	🇮🇹 Italy	AC Milan, Italy national team	Transformed modern football, won back-to-back European Cups (1989, 1990)
2	José Mourinho	🇵🇹 Portugal	Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Man Utd	Multiple league titles & 2 Champions League trophies
3	Andre Villas-Boas	🇵🇹 Portugal	Porto, Chelsea, Tottenham, Marseille	Won treble with Porto; Premier League experience
4	Maurizio Sarri	🇮🇹 Italy	Napoli, Chelsea, Juventus	Europa League winner with Chelsea
5	Gerard Houllier	🇫🇷 France	Liverpool, Aston Villa, Lyon	UEFA Cup & FA Cup with Liverpool
6	Ralf Rangnick	🇩🇪 Germany	RB Leipzig, Schalke, Man United (interim)	Key influence on German pressing football
7	Avram Grant	🇮🇱 Israel	Chelsea, Portsmouth	Reached Champions League final with Chelsea
8	Thomas Frank	🇩🇰 Denmark	Brentford	Took Brentford to Premier League without a playing past
9	Kieran McKenna	🇬🇧 Northern Ireland	Ipswich Town	Rapid rise as top coach after early retirement
10	Paul Clement	🇬🇧 England

 

[BalticBlade]

BalticBlade re your point about someone being outraged on TwatterX that Sellés has never played professional footy.
I asked chatGBT which top managers have never played pro footy….

Rank​	Name​	Nationality​	Key Teams Managed​	Notable Achievements​
1	Arrigo Sacchi	🇮🇹 Italy	AC Milan, Italy national team	Transformed modern football, won back-to-back European Cups (1989, 1990)
2	José Mourinho	🇵🇹 Portugal	Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Man Utd	Multiple league titles & 2 Champions League trophies
3	Andre Villas-Boas	🇵🇹 Portugal	Porto, Chelsea, Tottenham, Marseille	Won treble with Porto; Premier League experience
4	Maurizio Sarri	🇮🇹 Italy	Napoli, Chelsea, Juventus	Europa League winner with Chelsea
5	Gerard Houllier	🇫🇷 France	Liverpool, Aston Villa, Lyon	UEFA Cup & FA Cup with Liverpool
6	Ralf Rangnick	🇩🇪 Germany	RB Leipzig, Schalke, Man United (interim)	Key influence on German pressing football
7	Avram Grant	🇮🇱 Israel	Chelsea, Portsmouth	Reached Champions League final with Chelsea
8	Thomas Frank	🇩🇰 Denmark	Brentford	Took Brentford to Premier League without a playing past
9	Kieran McKenna	🇬🇧 Northern Ireland	Ipswich Town	Rapid rise as top coach after early retirement
10	Paul Clement	🇬🇧 England

Haven't you heard? You CAN'T trust the AI

 

[Blade56]

Sadly Tony you and I seem to be in the minority. When I made the same point earlier this season, I was told to “look at the table”.
We still finished 10 points adrift of automatic promotion!

My main concern is that:
A: We will still lose key players, because of Wilder, Selles, Agents etc.
B: Selles could still make a slow start on takeover, and the owners lack understanding and patience.

Some fans don’t like losing Wilder. That is not important because fans don’t matter and fans don’t make decisions or pay the bills. The owners do so it’s their money and their gamble.

Worst case is, Selles gets a slow start and we only make the play offs.

Can I join?

I am expecting fast attacking football, yes we’ll concede a few but if we see good football and win 3-2, 5-4 whatever I’d be delighted.